WCT20 - Moments to savor

Picking the best moments of a tournament that was full of them is a hard task in itself. In a tournament of such high standards, it is imperative that we choose only the cream of those. Here's a look back at a few of the magical moments that the game offered us - the spectators during the span of the tournament.

The 'Mendis' magic:

Ajantha Mendis made a spectacular start to his career in 2008 by bamboozling the Indians with his mystery spin. He was lauded as the next big ticket spinner to come from Sri Lanka, until the Indians unmasked his mystery in the following tour. Following a period in exile, Mendis was named in the 15 man squad for the T20 Cup. His first opponents were Zimbabwe, a team that had seen very little of him. Needless to say, they got sucked into a whirlpool of carom balls, top-spinners and googlies as the boys from Southern Africa crashed in humiliation. Mendis returned with sensational figures of 6/8, the best bowling figures ever in a T20I match. The mystery man had comeback with a big bang. He was to make his mark once again in the finals - the dismissal of Chris Gayle could have been the turning point of the match - but Marlon Samuels had other ideas.

McCullum blazes Bangladesh away

Group 'D' was termed as the group of death when the seeding was done. All the three teams were capable of making it through. New Zealand and Pakistan had pedigree, Bangladesh were seen as someone with the potential to cause massive upsets. When New Zealand took on the 'Tigers' in their first league match, a cliff-hanger was expected. Someone forgot to tell that to Brendon McCullum. In an astonishing display of batting, McCullum tore the Bangladesh bowling to shreds to register the first triple figure of the tournament. He went on to erase Chris Gayle's record for the highest individual score while also becoming the first player to score two international T20I tons. At the end of one maniac twenty overs, Bangladesh's hopes of creating history all but lay in tatters.

Luke Wright falls agonizingly short

Afghanistan punched above their weight against India and looked to be doing the same against England until they ran into Luke Wright. The diminutive striker, who would not have been in the 15 man squad had Kevin Pietersen resolved his tiff with the ECB went on to dismantle the Afghans with some power hitting of the highest class. He seemed set to become the first Englishman to score a T20I century but failed to get more than two runs off the final ball to be left stranded on 99. Some solace though, as he went past Alex Hales as the holder of the highest individual score by an Englishman.

England learn a lesson in 'spin'

Not may gave a chance for India to beat England after their sloppy show against Afghanistan. The skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a bold move left out Zaheer and Ravichandran Ashwin and opted to play both Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla, two controversial selections. Chasing a competitive target, England never got into their groove against spin with batsman after batsman perishing after being unable to crack the code. It was like a set of lambs ready for slaughter. At one point, England threatened to breach Kenya's record for the lowest T20I score but the last pair managed to get them past the barrier but could not prevent England from crashing to a humiliating 90 run loss. England had once again been humbled by spin.

Shakib - the lone warrior

Bangladesh met Pakistan in the final match of the preliminary league knowing that only a miracle could take them through to the next stage. It was once again left to their talisman, Shakib Al Hasan to lift his team through choppy waters. Shakib responded with a fine 84, the highest score ever by a Bangladeshi batsman in T20I cricket and bowled four tight overs, but once again was badly let down by his team-mates as Imran Nazir ran amok to complete a disappointing T20 Cup for the 'Tigers'.

Heartbreak for New Zealand

The Trans-Tasman neighbors of Australia will take the cake for bringing a lot of anxiety and excitement into Group 1 of the super eights. The Ross Taylor led side fought back from desperate situations twice against Sri Lanka and West Indies to take the match into the super over. The nerves gave way there as Tim Southee, the man responsible for salvaging his team in the final over of regular play in both matches lost the plot completely and ended up watching in horror as New Zealand slid towards defeat and elimination. New Zealand were much better than what their results show but were the first team to be knocked out at the Super Eight stage.

South Africa 'choke' once again

Things were progressing rather smoothly for AB de Villiers and his team-mates as they had Pakistan on the ropes at 76/7, chasing 133. It was then that South Africa's most feared 'C' word came back to haunt them. Skipper AB de Villiers, surprisingly let the pressure slip upon the Pakistan batsmen as he resorted to bowling Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel. 36 runs in two overs and suddenly the tables had turned. The two Umars, Akmal and Gul had piloted a sensational heist as Pakistan pulled off a miraculous victory. South Africa never recovered from the blow and hurtled out of the tournament with further defeats against Australia and India.

The Warner-Watson show

If South Africa choked earlier in the day, India imploded with spectacular fashion later on during the night. Defending a rather modest 140, Indian bowlers saw red as they were treated with absolute disdain as the ball flew around all parts of the stadium. It was nothing short of a massacre, engineered by two batsmen whom the bowlers fear most in the shortest format of the game. Nine boundaries and ten massive sixes told the story as the bowling was ruthlessly dismantled and the chase was done and dusted within 15 overs. Dhoni was left speechless and his excuse about the short rain delay did not amuse anyone either. India was left licking their wounds as even an otherwise perfect record could not give them a place in the semis.

Malinga gun - works either ways

It is fair to say that Malinga's speedometer works on both scales. On his day, there is no other bowler who is as difficult to face as Lasith Malinga. His toe crushing yorkers, the sharp bouncers and the cleverly disguised slower balls make the task of facing him an arduous one. Those were clearly on show umpteen times during the tournament as New Zealand found out in the Super Over and the Englishmen found right throughout their chase. He came in for praise after playing his part in the semi-final victory over Pakistan and was touted as the ace in the pack for Jayawardene. Everything came apart in the finals as Marlon Samuels pasted him to every part of the stadium, perhaps nobody barring Virat Kohli had taken such a liking to the official ambassador of the tournament. Malinga leaked 39 runs including five massive sixes to Samuels alone and ended up with figures of 0/54, his worst ever show in T20I matches. From being the hero, Malinga had taken a giant fall to become the villain for Sri Lanka.

The big-hitters come to the party

West Indies were considered the dark horses of the tournament thanks to the explosiveness of their batting order. No other team could match the overall strength of this team. Chris Gayle at the top, the elegance of Samuels in the middle, the quality of the Bravo brothers, the fiery Kieron Pollard and the late order sluggers in the form of Andre Russell and Darren Sammy. They did take their time to settle, but once they did, they lit up the tournament like no one else. Gayle and Samuels were the showmen, Gayle's unbeaten 75 was the cornerstone of West Indies mauling Australia in the semis while Samuels reserved the best for the finals. His 78 on a difficult track was the difference between the two teams as West Indies annexed their first world title since 1979. While the knock ensured the big prize for his team, Samuels might have already booked his award for the 'performance of the year'.

Yet another edition of the T20 cup has come and gone. 27 matches were played between 10 highly competitive teams and at the end of it, West Indies walked away with the honors. It was an apt reward for a team that has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Darren Sammy and his boys can be justifiably be proud at their achievement. For the hosts, Sri Lanka, it was yet another case of 'so close yet so far' as the search for a world title continued to elude them. Australia's search to complete the missing show-piece in their trophy cabinet remained unfulfilled. For Pakistan, the unpredictability factor continued to remain as a puzzle. They were many moments that made the world take notice, the glory of the game was in full sparkle. Sri Lanka and its people enjoyed every bit of the carnival atmosphere and can look back at those with a sense of pride. 2012 gave us a new winner, yet another name has been engraved in the annals of the trophy. For now, West Indies have found a reason to rejoice, they can forget all their past miseries as they soak in the atmosphere.